National Guard soldiers help with flood preparation efforts in Georgetown

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -More than 100 South Carolina National Guard soldiers are in Georgetown ahead of major flooding events.

On Sunday, soldiers from the 125th Multi-role Bridge Company constructed a ferry system that, when connected, will make a larger raft with room to fit a commercial truck, which would then be ferried by boat to the other side of the river.

National Guard teams offloaded the large rafts from the Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown.

Captain Joseph Varin said, previously they have never had to deploy floats in an emergency situation in South Carolina, but they train for it multiples times a year.

“Each section of the bridge is loaded onto a truck, offloaded into the water.” Varin said. “It requires certain depths depending on how we launch it we used the boats to maneuver each section, put the sections together and some interlocks to connect them."

County officials are anticipating flooding at the merger of the Waccamaw River and Great Pee Dee River in Winyah Bay.

Flood levels are predicted to reach up to 12 feet in some parts of the county.